Windshield protector



May 18, 1 J. c. EALEY El'AI.

WINDSHIELD PROTECTOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 15, 1963 INVEN ORS JAMES C- EALEY Run-A20 OUSLEY ATTORNEYS y 1965 J. c. EALEY ETAL WINDSHIELD PROTECTOR Filed Feb. 15, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS JAMES C. EALEY! RICHARD OUSLEY BY %%W fi QM ATT RNEYS United States Patent 3,184,264 WINDSHIELD PROTECTOR James C. Ealey and Richard Ousley, Raceland, Ky., assignors of one-third to Charles B. Johnson, Russell, K

Filed Feb. 15, 1963, Ser. No. 258,704 1 Claim. (Cl. 296-95) This invention relates to protective covers for car windshields and the like.

It is an object to provide a cover which protects exteriorly against accumulation of ice, snow or frost on a windshield, and is also capable of interior use to reduce glare.

These and other objects, which will be apparent, are attained by the present invention, a preferred form of which is described in the following specification, as illustrated in the drawing, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a portion of an automobile, with the protective cover in place over the exterior surface of the windshield,

FIGURE 2 is a view similar to FIGURE 1, showing an alternative use of the protective cover as a canopy,

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of FIGURE 1,

FIGURE 4 is a view similar to FIGURE 3, showing another manner of use, with the protective cover reversed and overlying the inner surface of the windshield,

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view taken on the line 55 of FIGURE 2,

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary view, enlarged, of a detail in FIGURE 5,

FIGURE 7 on exploded view, in perspective, of the protective cover,

FIGURE 8 is an exploded perspective view, enlarged, of a suction cup and its mounting, and

FIGURE 9 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 99 of FIGURE 8.

Referring to the drawings by characters of reference, there is shown a protective cover of transparent, sheet plastic, in three separable parts, including a central section 10, adapted to cover the main, central portion 12 of the windshield, and a pair of generally triangular wings 14, adapted to cover correspondingly shaped, rearwardly extending end portions 16 of the windshield. The wings 14 are secured to the central section in lap joints, by means of snap fastener components 18, 20 (FIGS. 1 and 7), which are conventional in structure, and need not, therefore, be described in detail.

The parts of the protective cover, when in overlying relation to the windshield, are secured thereto by means of a plurality of suction cups, judiciously arranged. For instance, the protector is shown as having four such cups 22, located marginally along each of its two long sides, and the end, wings 14 are shown as each having one cup. As seen in FIGURE 9, the cups 22 each have the usual shank portion 24, and in this shank is anchored a corlrugated stem 26 having an outer, flat collar 28, and an outer, round knob 29, constituting the male element of a snap fastener, the female element 30 of which, in the form of a grommet, is suitably secured in the protective cover, as shown in large scale, for the wing section 14 in FIGURE 8.

With or without the end wings, the central section 10 may be quickly attached by simple pressure, to either the inside or outside surface of the windshield, the placement of the cover inside or out being dictated by circumstances.

ice

For instance, where the only problem is glare, as in sunlight, or in night driving, the cover is preferably placed on the inside, where it will not be affected by winds, and when it is desired to keep the windshield free of frost, ice or snow, as in temporary or overnight parking, it will be placed on the outside.

For keeping the Windshield free of rain, as, for instance, at a drive-in movie, without resort to windshield wipers, the cover may readily be converted into a canopy. In order to effect the canopy structure a supporting rail or beam 32 is provided, secured at its ends, as by glueing or a friction fit, to standards 34, of dowel stock, each carrying at its lower end, a suitable suction cup 36, adapted to dwell on the surf-ace of the hood of the car. The lower edge of central section 10 of the cover, after removal of the lower line of suction cups 22, is secured to beam 32 by means of snap fasteners in the form of grommets 38, in the cover (FIGS. 6 and 7), which snap over male members having round heads 40, and a Woodscrew portion 42, threaded into the top face of support beam 32. It will be understood that grommets 30 for the suction cups may be made to perform double duty, and coact with knobs 40, thus doing away with the need for extra grommets 38. In this use, the upper line of suction cups 22 continues to hold the cover on the upper part of the windshield. In FIG. 5, the numeral 44 indicates the falling rain, which is kept from contact with the windshield, and which therefore olfer little obstruction to vision in the viewing of an outdoor movie screen. In the use as a canopy, the end wings 14 may be left on, and permitted to hang down, but a Wider angle of vision results if they are removed.

In any of the uses shown, the cover or canopy is easily installed by a simple placement of the cups and light pressure, and as easily removed by rapid detachment of the several cups. The cover is equally applicable to the rear window, or other windows of a car, if and when such other uses are required.

While a certain, preferred embodiment has been shown and described, various modifications will be apparent, in the light of this disclosure, and the invention should not, therefore, be deemed as limited, except insofar as shall appear from the spirit and scope of the appended claim.

I claim:

In combination, a windshield having a main transverse vertical portion having an upper edge, and a vehicle body portion extending forwardly from the lower edge of the windshield, a cover comprising a flexible sheet having a main portion substantially as wide as the windshield, the major portion of said main portion of the sheet being horizontally disposed and spaced above said body portion, said sheet main portion having a rear edge portion which is flexed upwardly relative to the main portion of the sheet, first means securing said rear edge portion to the main portion of the windshield at a location adjacent to and below the upper edge of the windshield main portion, said first securing means comprising a plurality of suction cups longitudinally-spaced on said windshield main portion and connected to the sheet by snap fasteners and second means secured to the said body portion and to the main portion of the sheet and retainably spacing the main portion of the sheet above said body portion, said second means comprising a normally horizontal beam, snap fastening means releasably connecting the forward edge of the main portion of said sheet to said beam, a plurality of standards having one of their ends fixedly secured to said beam at longitudinally-spaced intervals with the other ends of said standards depending there- V o 7 =9 from, and a suction cup secured, respectively, to each 7 2,944,601 lower end'of said standards for releasable engagement 3,042,111 with said vehicle body portion. 3,047,058 7 3,068,046 References Cited by the Examiner 5 V, r UNITED STA ES PATENTS e 2,843,421 7/58 Shelton 296- 95 888,373 2,853,129 9/58 Leavitt et a1; 160:66

Compson 29695 Wytovich 296- 95 X Cormier 296-95 X Bourgoin 29695 FOREIGN PATENTS 2/62, A. HARRY LEVY; Primqry Examiner.

Great Britain. 

